Liz, Friends Foil Firm’s Big Night to Lobby

WASHINGTON — It seemed like the perfect lobbying setup, until Elizabeth Taylor got in the way.

It all started when Waste Management Inc., a Chicago-based waste-disposal company, lent $200,000 to the Presidential Inaugural Committee. The loan entitled Waste Management to buy a $12,000 box for an inaugural gala at the D.C. Convention Center on Saturday night featuring entertainers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tom Selleck, Rich Little and Donna Summer.

To fill the box, two of Waste Management’s top officers were joined by the sorts of persons they hoped would side with them on anti-pollution legislation: Sen. James Abdnor (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Environment subcommittee on natural resources, and two House members whom a company official declined to identify. Spouses went along too.

But when the group arrived at their box, they found it already occupied by actress Elizabeth Taylor and her friends.

“It was very embarrassing,” said the company official, who requested anonymity. “Everybody got reseated in regular seats except for one of the congressmen--a Democrat. He had to stand, but he was a good sport.”